Passive Temperature Controlled Packaging System as a ULD

Abstract

A container suitable for use in a shipment of a cargo by air may include a container body having a top wall, a bottom wall, a front wall, a rear wall and oppositely disposed side walls and defining a cargo space within the container. The container body may be fabricated as a structure that is a compliant unit load device (ULD) container meeting specified aviation authority structural requirements. A passive temperature control system is located within the cargo space and may have a plurality of insulation panels connected to inner surfaces of the walls of the container body, at least one rack proximate a corresponding wall of the container body, and a plurality of refrigerant bottles filled with a thermal medium and received by the at least one rack to passively maintain a cargo space temperature in the cargo space during the shipment of the cargo.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A container suitable for use in a shipment of a cargo by air, the container comprising:
 a container body having a top wall, a bottom wall, a front wall, a rear wall and oppositely disposed side walls, wherein the container body defines a cargo space within the container, and   a passive temperature control system located within the cargo space, the passive temperature control system comprising:
 a plurality of insulation panels, wherein each of the plurality of insulation panels is connected to an inner surface of a corresponding wall of the container body, 
 a rack proximate one of the top wall and one of the oppositely disposed side walls, the rack defining a slot, and 
 a plurality of refrigerant bottles filled with a thermal medium, wherein the plurality of refrigerant bottles and the thermal medium are one of cooled and heated to a predetermined temperature for the cargo being shipped in the container and inserted into the slot of the rack to passively maintain a cargo space temperature in the cargo space during the shipment of the cargo. 
   
     
     
         2 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the container body is fabricated as a structure that is a compliant unit load device (ULD) container meeting specified aviation authority structural requirements. 
     
     
         3 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the container body comprises:
 a pallet forming the bottom wall;   an outer enclosure forming the top wall, the rear wall and the oppositely disposed side walls, wherein the outer enclosure is mounted on the pallet; and   a door forming the front wall, wherein the door is connected to one of the oppositely disposed side walls and rotatable between an open position and a closed position.   
     
     
         4 . The container of  claim 1 , comprising a telemetry system for transmitting data in real time to a remote processor. 
     
     
         5 . The container of  claim 1 , comprising a baseplate having an upper metal sheet, a lower metal sheet and an internal core fabricated from a thermoplastic polymer and disposed between the upper metal sheet and the lower metal sheet, wherein the baseplate is disposed on top of a bottom insulation panel. 
     
     
         6 . The container of  claim 5 , wherein the thermoplastic polymer of the internal core is high density polyethylene (HDPE). 
     
     
         7 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein a bottom insulation panel has a plurality of break holes extending therethrough, the container comprising a plurality of thermal breaks having a thermal break height that is greater than a bottom insulation panel thickness, wherein each of the plurality of thermal breaks is disposed within a corresponding one of the plurality of break holes such that each of the plurality of thermal breaks engages a top surface of the bottom wall, extends upward beyond an upper surface of the bottom insulation panel, and supports a weight of the rack and the plurality of refrigerant bottles. 
     
     
         8 . The container of  claim 7 , comprising a baseplate having an upper metal sheet, a lower metal sheet and an internal core fabricated from a thermoplastic polymer and disposed between the upper metal sheet and the lower metal sheet, wherein the baseplate is disposed on top of the bottom insulation panel, wherein the baseplate has a plurality of break notches defined therein with each of the plurality of break notches having a position corresponding to one of the plurality of break holes of the bottom insulation panel, and wherein each of the plurality of thermal breaks extends upward beyond the upper surface of the baseplate. 
     
     
         9 . The container of  claim 7 , wherein each of the plurality of thermal breaks comprises:
 a break body;   a break foot extending downward from the break body and engaging the top surface of the bottom wall when each of the plurality of thermal breaks is disposed within a corresponding one of the plurality of break holes; and   a break shoulder extending upward from the break body and extending above the bottom insulation panel and engaging the rack when each of the plurality of thermal breaks is disposed within the corresponding one of the plurality of break holes.   
     
     
         10 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the rack comprises:
 a top rack disposed proximate the top wall;   a first side rack disposed proximate a first one of the oppositely disposed side walls; and   a second side rack disposed proximate a second one of the oppositely disposed side walls.   
     
     
         11 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the rack comprises:
 a plurality of parallel slats disposed on either side of the rack;   a plurality of upper tracks that are perpendicular to the plurality of parallel slats and are oriented with upper track channels opening downward; and   a plurality of lower tracks that are perpendicular to the plurality of parallel slats and are oriented with lower track channels facing upward, wherein the plurality of upper tracks and the plurality of lower tracks separate the plurality of parallel slats on either side of the rack and are alternated so that each corresponding pair of an upper track and a lower track and corresponding portions of the plurality of parallel slats define one of the slot of the rack.   
     
     
         12 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of insulation panels comprises:
 a vacuum insulated panel (VIP); and   an outer covering of expanded polypropylene (EPP) foam.   
     
     
         13 . A container suitable for use in a shipment of a cargo by air, the container comprising:
 a container body having a top wall, a bottom wall, a front wall, a rear wall and oppositely disposed side walls, wherein the container body defines a cargo space within the container, and wherein the container body is fabricated as a structure that is a compliant unit load device (ULD) container meeting specified aviation authority structural requirements; and   a passive temperature control system located within the cargo space and having a plurality of insulation panels each connected to an inner surface of a corresponding wall of the container body, at least one rack proximate a corresponding one of the top wall and the oppositely disposed side walls of the container body, and a plurality of refrigerant bottles filled with a thermal medium and received by the at least one rack to passively maintain a cargo space temperature in the cargo space during the shipment of the cargo.   
     
     
         14 . The container of  claim 13 , wherein the container body comprises:
 a pallet forming the bottom wall;   an outer enclosure forming the top wall, the rear wall and the oppositely disposed side walls, wherein the outer enclosure is mounted on the pallet; and   a door forming the front wall, wherein the door is connected to one of the oppositely disposed side walls and rotatable between an open position and a closed position.   
     
     
         15 . The container of  claim 13 , comprising a telemetry system for transmitting data in real time to a remote processor. 
     
     
         16 . A refrigerant bottle for a container suitable for use in a shipment of a cargo by air, wherein the container has an inner insulation layer and a rack proximate an insulation panel of the inner insulation layer and defining at least one slot, the refrigerant bottle comprising:
 a reservoir body that is sized to be inserted into the at least one slot of the rack; and   a connection mechanism defined in the reservoir body and configured to connect a plurality of refrigerant bottles in series for insertion and removal of multiple refrigerant bottles into and out of the at least on slot together, wherein the refrigerant bottle is one of cooled and heated to a predetermined temperature for the cargo being shipped in the container and inserted into the slot of the rack to passively maintain a cargo space temperature in a cargo space of the container during the shipment of the cargo.   
     
     
         17 . The refrigerant bottle of  claim 16 , wherein the refrigerant bottle is filled with a thermal medium. 
     
     
         18 . The refrigerant bottle of  claim 16 , wherein the connection mechanism comprises:
 a bottle tab extending outward from a first end of the reservoir body; and   a bottle socket defined in the reservoir body at a second end opposite the first end of the reservoir body, wherein the bottle tab and the bottle socket are configured to interlock so that a first adjacent refrigerant bottle may be connected to the first end of the reservoir body and a second adjacent refrigerant bottle may be connected to the second end of the reservoir body such that the refrigerant bottle, the first adjacent refrigerant bottle and the second adjacent refrigerant bottle move together into and out of the slot of the rack.   
     
     
         19 . The refrigerant bottle of  claim 16 , wherein the reservoir body has a handle defined therein. 
     
     
         20 . The refrigerant bottle of  claim 16 , the at least one slot of the rack is defined by an upper track that is oriented with an upper track channel opening facing downward and a lower track that is oriented with lower track channel facing upward, wherein the refrigerant bottle comprises:
 an upper shoulder extending upward from an upper edge of the reservoir body; and   an lower shoulder extending downward from a lower edge of the reservoir body, wherein the upper shoulder is received into the upper track channel of the upper track and the lower shoulder is received into the lower track channel of the lower track when the refrigerant bottle is inserted into the at least one slot of the rack to guide the refrigerant bottle within the at least one slot.